Town Yearly Awards - 2017

No. 1 'Safest City in Texas'

SAFEHOME, a research organization which studies home security equipment and monitoring plans, recently released the results of a study identifying the top 65 safest cities in Texas with a population of 50,000 or larger – and guess who is on top? Flower Mound! Analysts calculated safety scores for each community studied using FBI crime data, population, and citizen-to-officer ratio, and the higher the score the better. Flower Mound scored an impressive 90.42. Check out the full study here.

No. 1 'Most Livable' City in Texas, No. 13 in America

According to a recent study by 24/7 Wall St., a USA TODAY financial news content partner, Flower Mound is the “Most Livable” city in the State of Texas, and the No. 13 “Most Livable” city in the nation. Researchers created an index of over three dozen socioeconomic measures, including crime, median income, and education, to ultimately identify the top 50 most desirable American cities to call home. Notable attributes for Flower Mound include the median home value of $344,300 (top 25 percent of communities studies), 61.3 percent of the population has a bachelor’s degree (top 10 percent of communities studied), and the low 4.7 percent poverty rate (bottom 10 percent of communities studied).
Check out the full USA TODAY story here, and the entire 24/7 Wall St. study here.

​No. 1 'Best Cities for Families'

A recent study by real estate website, ApartmentList, has named Flower Mound No.1 on its annual “2017 Best Cities for Families” report. This study ranked 510 U.S. cities by their “family friendliness”, based on four key factors including FBI data on violent crime and property crime, housing affordability based on median gross rent, education quality and graduation rate, and the percentage of children under the age of 18 in the population. Flower Mound scored in the 99th percentile for both safety and affordability, with a 97.3 index score overall. View the full study.

No. 2 'Best Places for Young Families in Texas'

According to the financial website NerdWallet, Flower Mound ranks No. 2 on its list of “Best Places for Young Families in Texas” list. Researchers examined 239 Texas communities with populations larger than 10,000, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to find places that offer the best combination of affordability, quality schools, future growth and prosperity, and family-friendliness. The study noted that 44 percent of Flower Mound households have young kids making it one of the best communities for family-friendliness, which pairs well with its high marks for quality schools. Eight of the top ten communities on the “Best Places for Young Families” list are suburbs of the DFW area, with No. 1 being Murphy, Texas. View the full study here.

No. 3 'Best Places to Build a Forever Home'

Whether you’re planning to buy or build your dream home, Flower Mound continues to rank highly on best places to live. This week, Flower Mound was ranked No.3 on the 2017 “Best Places to Build a Forever Home” by GoodCall®, a personal finance website. GoodCall analyzed 468 cities nationwide and Flower Mound ranked within the top 10 percent for its comparative custom home cost, growing home values, affordability, population, educational values, low unemployment and crime rates. For more information, please visit: https://www.goodcall.com/data-center/2017-best-cities-build-forever-home/.

No. 3 'Safest Place in Texas'

According to a study by Elite Personal Finance, an online source for financial tips and identity theft protection, Flower Mound is the No. 3 “Safest Place in Texas.” Researchers created a formula using FBI crime statistics, and a community’s population to determine a crime score – the safer the city, the lower the score. Flower Mound’s crime score is 0.45. The study also narrowed the results according to population segments, and Flower Mound ranked No. 1 for population 30,000 to 100,000 people. View the full study here.

No. 5 'Best Cities to Raise Kids in the U.S.'

The National Council for Home Safety and Security ranked Flower Mound No. 5 on its national list of the top 100 “Best Cities to Raise Kids in the U.S.” While we disagree with a few knocks to the Town’s character and uniqueness noted in the study, Flower Mound is praised for its family-friend atmosphere, and its SMARTGrowth program, which helps foster well balanced growth. Rankings were calculated after compiling data on education, income, crime, and health insurance, from 526 cities across America. The next closest Texas city recognized in the study was the Houston suburb of Pearland. San Ramon, California topped the list at No. 1. View the full study here.

No. 7 'Best Small Cities for Families in U.S.'

According to financial clarity website NerdWallet, Flower Mound ranks No. 7 on its national “Best Small Cities for Families” list. Researchers examined data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey for 944 cities across the U.S. with populations of 25,000 to 75,000, to find the top locations that offer the best combination of affordability, growth and prosperity, and family-friendliness. NerdWallet said, “The 70,000-resident town ranks among the best for family friendliness, as 44 percent of families have kids. A suburb of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the town has the cheapest median home value (about $280,000) of any of the cities with the highest 40 median annual household incomes. Put simply, your money will get you more house in Flower Mound than in many other places in our analysis.” Linton Hall, Va. ranked No.1 on the list. View the full study here.

No. 7 'Safest Cities in Nation'

We’re happy to report Flower Mound was ranked No. 7 on the top 100 Safest Cities in the U.S. published by National Council for Home Safety and Security. Flower Mound is the only Texas community represented in the report’s top 30, with the City of Allen at No. 34. To determine the safety rankings, analysts examined FBI crime data for cities with a population greater than 50,000, noting reports of violent crimes, property crimes, and officer count in one year. These variables were then measured against the population of the city. The No. 1 safest city according to the report, went to Denver suburb, Thornton, Colo.The full report can be found here. Alarms.org is the official site of the National Council for Home Safety and Security, offering important research, articles, reports, and more regarding home safety and security.

No. 7 '50 Safest Cities in Texas'

According to SafeWise, a community-focused security organization, Flower Mound is ranked No. 7 on their “50 Safest Cities in Texas” report. This is the third consecutive time Flower Mound ranked in the top 10 of SafeWise’s annual report, and the third safety recognition the Town has received so far this year. To compile this report, SafeWise used the most recent FBI crime data from 2015 to analyze and rank these cities, which all have a minimum population of 10,000 people. To view the full report, please click here.

No. 9 'Most Successful City in Texas'

According to Zippia, a career advancement website, Flower Mound ranked No. 9 on their list of the “10 Most Successful Cities in Texas.” Researchers used the American Community Survey results from 2010 to 2014 to compared data on poverty level, median household income, and the unemployment rate of 340 cities across the state, with a population of 5,000 or more. The study determined Flower Mound has a 2.9 percent poverty level, a 4.3 percent unemployment rate, and a median income of $121,549. The Houston suburb of West University Place ranked No. 1 according to Zippia. To view the full study, please click here.

No. 10 'Safest Cities in Texas'

The Town of Flower Mound continually ranks among the safest cities in Texas. Alarms.org, the official site of the National Council for Home Safety and Security, named Flower Mound as the No. 10 Safest City in Texas, the only community with a population of more than 30,000 to crack the top 10. To identify the safest cities in Texas, Alarms.org reviewed the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Report statistics along with population data and internal research. The communities were ranked based on the number of reported violent crimes (aggravated assault, murder, rape, and robbery) and property crimes (burglary, arson, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft) per 100,000 people. These variables were then weighted, with violent crimes accounting for 70 percent of the total (due to their severity) and property crimes accounting for 30 percent. For more information about the list, please visit https://www.alarms.org/the-safest-cities-in-texas-2017/.

Flower Mound Praised for High Credit Scores

Thinking about applying for a loan or credit card? Credit scores are more than a number – they represent your financial habits and signify how well you manage your debts. Flower Mound residents rank in the top 6 percent of cities with the highest credit scores, according to financial advising website WalletHub. WalletHub’s analysts compared the average credit scores of residents in 2,534 U.S. cities to give credit where credit is literally and figuratively due. For more information, please visit https://wallethub.com/free-credit-score/#Flower-Mound-TX.

Heritage Park Wins 2017 "Best Of" Award

The readers of the Flower Mound “Living Magazine” have cast their votes, and Heritage Park of Flower Mound has been named the 2017 Readers’ Choice Best Park winner for the second consecutive year! This is the fifth annual “Best Of” edition, which asks residents to cast votes in over 130 categories to help determine the best in everything from beauty and wellness, to dining, to entertainment, and retail, among other categories. Heritage Park will be featured in the August edition of the Flower Mound edition of “Living Magazine”, and residents can also visit https://www.livingmagazine.net/2017-best-of-winners/ to learn more about the 2017 Best Of Readers’ Choice winners.

National Association of Telecommunicators Officers & Advisors

The Town of Flower Mound Communications Department was recognized with six national awards, including three first-place trophies, at the 2017 National Association of Telecommunicators Officers and Advisors (NATOA) annual conference for the following Town produced videos:

The Town also took home a second-place award for overall programming excellence, and two third-place awards for Flower Mound Police Department’s ‘Beyond the Badge: 22 Kill’ video, and the Animal Adoption Center’s ‘Ruff Decisions’ comedic spoof video.

Communications Team Takes Top State Honors

The Flower Mound Communications Division took home six trophies at the 2017 Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers conference. The Town of Flower Mound was honored with the following awards:

City-County Communications and Marketing Association

The Town of Flower Mound’s Communications Department took home a first place national award for creative marketing and communications at the recent City-County Communications and Marketing Association national conference in Anaheim, Calif. The Savvy Award winning video “Tipline Bling”, an idea prompted by Flower Mound Police Department School Resource Officers, uses a parody of the popular Drake song “Hotline Bling”, to encourage students at Marcus and Flower Mound High Schools to use the designated school tiplines to report concerns of any kind. Watch “Tipline Bling”. The Town also brought home a second place Silver Circle Award for a video introducing Ziva, Flower Mound Fire Department’s accelerant detection dog. Watch Ziva's video.

The Savvy Awards, held in conjunction with 3CMA’s Annual Conference, recognize outstanding local government achievements in communications, public-sector marketing and citizen-government relationships. The Savvies salute skilled and effective city, county, agency or district professionals who have creatively planned and carried out successful innovations in communications and marketing. 3CMA accommodates local government organizations of all sizes and budget classes by judging entries in several different population groups.

Texas Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors

The Town of Flower Mound Communications Department recently received 15 awards, including six first-place awards, at the Texas Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (TATOA) annual conference. Flower Mound was the most-awarded municipality of the state conference for the second consecutive year, and set a new record for the most TATOA awards staff has received in a single year. In fact, staff completely swept two categories and took home first and second in two other categories. For the first time, Flower Mound Communications took home the most prestigious first place trophy of the night, the Overall Excellence in Programming award, which judges a municipality’s video programming as a whole. Other first place video project awards include:

In addition, the Town also received six second place awards, and three third place awards for additional video projects. Watch all the award-winning videos and more by subscribing to the Town of Flower Mound YouTube channel.

No. 10 "Best Credit Score in Texas"

According to a study by LendEDU, a student loan refinancing and consolidation company, Flower Mound is one of the most financially secure Town’s in the State of Texas, ranking No.10 on its “Best Credit Score in Texas” report. The study used Onboard Informatics and Experian credit statistics to analyze the average credit score of residents who live in cities with populations greater than 1,000. Flower Mound’s average credit score was 746, just 21 points below the No.1 spot held by Bellaire, Texas, which ranked 767. According to LendEDU, credit scores are a good economic indicator, as cities with high average credit scores usually experience high incomes, low unemployment, and fewer incidents of defaulted mortgages and loans. To view the full study, please visit: https://lendedu.com/blog/ranking-texas-towns-cities-credit-score/.

​No. 14 "Highest Real Estate Return"

Online real estate investment firm, HomeUnion, ranked Flower Mound No. 14 on their “Highest Real Estate Return” list. Researchers analyzed the attractiveness of neighborhoods, as well as school quality, in 20 national metro areas, Dallas being one them, to find the zip code within that metro area where single-family home investments will garner the highest return, at the lowest risk, over a five-year horizon. The only other Texas metro area studied was Houston, which determined Clear Lake City, TX ranked No. 15 on their list. The No.1 ranking went to the Hamptons at Boca Raton, near West Palm Beach, Fla. For more on this HomeUnion study, please click here.

Texas Festival and Events Association Awards

Congratulation to the Flower Mound Parks and Recreation division, which took home four first place state awards in Festival and Events Promotion at the recent Texas Festival and Events Association Conference and Trade Show. The Town of Flower Mound received the following awards:

Government Finance Officers Association

Continuing a long-standing tradition of financial integrity, the Town of Flower Mound was recently awarded its 31st consecutive Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the 2015-2016 fiscal year. The prestigious GFOA Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting. Providing detailed information concerning the financial condition of the Town, the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) is published for Town Council, residents, potential investors, and other interested persons. View the latest CAFR here.

Parks and Recreation Named 'Member City of the Year'

At the recent Texas Amateur Athletic Federation (T.A.A.F.) annual conference in Killeen, Flower Mound was recognized with the “Member City of the Year” award for cities with a population 35,000 to 74,999. This award is the highest honor T.A.A.F. presents individual cities, and honors Parks and Recreation Departments that have demonstrated excellence in the improvement and promotion of athletic programs in their respective cities. Flower Mound has been a member of T.A.A.F. for 25 years, and athletes who participate in Town offered youth and adult sports programs are registered with T.A.A.F. This is the first time Flower Mound has received the “Member City of the Year” award.